HOW THE DOG FOUND HIMSELF A NEW MASTER!

17

Before
Befor ead
e you rread
2
You may know that the dog and the wolf are
closely related. You may also know something
about how over the centuries, human beings have
domesticated and tamed wild animals. Here is a
story about how the dog became a tame animal.

How the Dog Found

Himself a New Master!

1. DOGS were once their own masters and

lived the way wolves do, in freedom,
until a dog was born who was ill pleased ill pleased: (old-
fashioned way of
with this way of life. He was sick and saying) not happy
tired of wandering about by himself

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looking for food and being frightened

of those who were stronger than he.
2. He thought it over and decided that
the best thing for him to do was to
become the servant of one who was
stronger than anyone on earth, and he
set out to find such a master.
3. He walked and he walked and he met
a kinsman of his, a big wolf who was kinsman: (old-
fashioned word
as strong as he was fierce. for) a relative
“Where are you going, Dog?” the Wolf fierce: violent;
asked. frightening

“I am looking for someone to take take up service

with: become
up service with. Would you like to be the servant of
my master, Wolf?”
“I don’t see why not!” the Wolf said,
and this agreed upon, the two of them
went on together.
4. They walked and they walked, and all
of a sudden the Wolf lifted his nose,
sniffed, darted quickly off the path and darted: moved
quickly, suddenly
into the bushes and crept deeper into
the forest. The Dog was much surprised.
“What’s come over you, master?” he come over you:
affected you
asked. “What has frightened you so?”
“Can’t you see? There’s a Bear out
there, and he might eat up both of
us — you and me.”
5. Seeing that the Bear was stronger
than the Wolf, the Dog decided to take
up service with him, and he left the
Wolf and asked the Bear to be his
master. The Bear agreed to this readily

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HOW THE DOG FOUND HIMSELF A NEW MASTER! 19

and said, “Let us go and find a herd of

cows. I’ll kill a cow and then we can
both eat our fill.”
6. They walked on and soon saw a herd
of cows, but just as they were about to
come up to it they were stopped by a
terrible noise. The cows were mooing
loudly and running in a panic in
all directions.
7. The Bear looked out from behind a
tree, and then he too ran hastily deeper
into the forest.

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“Now, why did I have to come here!”

said he to the Dog. “It is the Lion who
rules the forest in these parts.”
“The Lion? Who’s he?”
“Don’t you know? He is the strongest
beast on earth!”
“Well, then, I’ll say goodbye to you,
Bear. I want a master who is stronger
than anyone on earth!”
8. And off the Dog went to ask the Lion
to be his master.
The Lion agreed to it, and the Dog
stayed with him and served him for a
long, long time. It was a good life, and
he had nothing to complain of, for there
was no stronger beast in the forest than
the Lion, and no one dared touch the dared: to be brave
enough to do
Dog or offend him in any way. something
9. But one day the two of them were
walking side by side along a path that
ran amid bare cliffs when all of a sudden cliff: a steep, high
the Lion stopped. He gave a great roar rock (often at the
edge of the sea)
and struck the ground angrily with his
paw with such force that a hole formed
there. Then he began to back away very
quietly.
“What is it, Master, is anything
wrong?” asked the Dog, surprised.
“I smell a man coming this way,” the
Lion said. “We’d better run for it or we’ll
be in trouble.”
“Oh, well, then I’ll say goodbye to you,
Lion. I want a master who is stronger
than anyone on earth!”

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10. And off the Dog went to join the

man and he stayed with him and
served him faithfully. This happened
long, long ago, but to this day the dog
is man’s most loyal servant and knows
no other master.

WORKING WITH THE TEXT

A. Discuss these questions in pairs before you

write the answers.
1. Why did the dog feel the need for a master?
(1, 2)
2. Who did he first choose as his master?
Why did he leave that master? (3)
3. Who did he choose next? (5)
4. Why did he serve the Lion for a long
time? (8)
5. Who did he finally choose as his master
and why? (9, 10)
B. A summary of the story is given below. Fill in
the blanks to complete it taking appropriate
phrases from the box.

a dog stronger than anyone else

the strongest of all a wolf the bear
afraid of man his own master a lion

This is the story of —–––––—————————–, who

used to be —————————————— . He decided
to find a master —–––––––——————— . First
he found ———————————— , but the wolf

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was afraid of –––————––——————— . The dog thought that

the bear was ————————————— . After some time the
dog met ————————————— , who seemed the strongest.
He stayed with the lion for a long time. One day he realised that
the lion was ———————––—————— . To this day, the dog
remains man’s best friend.

WORKING WITH LANGUAGE

A. Each word in the box given below indicates a large number of…
For example,‘a herd of cows’ refers to many cows.
Complete each of the following phrases with a suitable word
from the box.

school fleet brood bundle bunch pack flock herd

1. a —————––—— of ships 5. a ———––———— of sticks

2. a ——————––— of flowers 6. a ——––————— of sheep

3. a ——————––— of chicks 7. a —––—————— of fish

4. a ———————–– of cattle 8. a ––——————— of wolves

B. Make nouns from the words given below by adding –ness or –

ity. (For some words we need to add just –ty, or –y.)

1. honest ————————— 7. creative ———————————--

2. kind —————————— 8. sincere ———————————--

3. cruel —————————— 9. cheerful ——————————

4. calm —————————— 10. bitter ———————————---

5. sad ——————————— 11. sensitive——————————-

6. active —————————---- 12. great ———————————----

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C. Wordsearch
• There are twelve words hidden in this table.
• Six can be found horizontally and the remaining six vertically.
• All of them are describing words like ‘good’, ‘happy’, etc.
• The first letters of the words are given below:

Horizontal: H R F F S G
Vertical: A W S F L Q

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SPEAKING

Here are some points from a similar story that you might have
heard in another language. Dividing the class into two groups try
and tell the story in English. One person from each group can
speak alternately. Your teacher will help you. As you tell it, one of
you may write it down on the board.

A Mouse Maiden
l mouse changed into a girl by a magician...
l wants to marry the strongest person...
l asks whether sun or cloud stronger (why?)...
l but mountain stronger than clouds (how?)...
l but mouse stronger than mountain (how?)...
l girl asks to marry mouse, becomes a mouse again.

The Last Ride Together

There was a young man of Niger

Who went for a ride on a tiger.
They returned from their ride,
With the man inside,
And a smile on the face of the tiger.

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HOW THE DOG FOUND HIMSELF A NEW MASTER! 25

The Kite
All of us like to fly kites. Have you ever tried to fly one? Read
this poem about a kite as it flies in the sky.

How bright on the blue

Is a kite when it’s new!
With a dive and a dip
It snaps its tail
Then soars like a ship
With only a sail
As over tides
Of wind it rides,
Climbs to the crest
Of a gust and pulls,
Then seems to rest
As wind falls.
When string goes slack
You wind it back
And run until
A new breeze blows
And its wings fill
And up it goes!
How bright on the blue
Is a kite when it’s new!
But a raggeder thing
You never will see
When it flaps on a string
In the top of a tree.
HARRY BEHN

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WORKING WITH THE POEM

1. List out the action words in the poem.

dive, dip, snaps, ——————, ——————, ———————,
——————, ——————
Find out the meanings of these words.

2. Read these lines from the poem:

Then soars like a ship
With only a sail
The movement of the tailless kite is compared to a ship with a
sail. This is called a simile. Can you suggest what or who the
following actions may be compared to?
He runs like —————————————––———
He eats like ——————————————–—–—
She sings like ————————————––——–—
It shines like ————————————–––———
It flies like ——————————————––———–
3. Try to make a kite with your friends. Collect the things required
such as colour paper/newspaper, thread, glue, a thin stick that
can be bent. After making the kite see if you can fly it.

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